Lemon Chia Seed Muffins

March 31, 2014

This Saturday was warmer than most recent Saturdays and so I made spring lemon chia seed muffins. The idea to make them popped into my head at work and they came out better than I could have asked for. Gluten-free and paleo, these muffins are lemony, light and moist with a bit of chia seed crunch. Made with coconut flour, these lemon chia seed muffins are also high in protein and fiber. And the coconut flavor of the flour is completely masked by the lemon; they taste like traditional lemon poppy seed muffins without being loaded with wheat, sugar and oil.

Josh is reading Born to Run, a book about Mexican Tarahumara Indians with a tradition of extreme barefoot distance running (hundreds of miles without injuries). Chia seeds are a dietary staple for these runners and although Josh and I only ran 6 miles this weekend, I like to think we ran faster than usual for eating these muffins.

WHY THEY’RE HEALTHY//Coconut flour, made from the meat of dried coconut, is high in protein, high in fiber and gluten-free. It is also high in manganese, which promotes a healthy immune system and thyroid health, and lauric acid, a healthy saturated fat that is essential for immune health. These lemon chia seed muffins are also made with honey, a natural sweetener with many health benefits, which you can read about in our post 5 Health Benefits of Honey. Pastured or organic eggs add protein and healthy fats, including omega-3 fatty acids. Chia seeds are also rich in polyunsaturated fats, especially omega-3s, which can help reduce inflammation and high cholesterol. Chia seeds are also high in fiber, antioxidants and minerals such as phosphorus, calcium and manganese. Unlike flax seeds which need to be ground to obtain nutrient benefits, chia seeds can be digested whole. //

Gluten-free and paleo, these muffins are lemony, light and moist with a bit of chia seed crunch. Made with coconut flour, these lemon chia seed muffins are also high in protein and fiber; perfect for breakfast!

Author: Our Four Forks

Serves: 6

Ingredients

½ cup coconut flour

2 tablespoons chia seeds

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

4 eggs

½ cup honey

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons lemon zest

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a muffin tin with 6 muffin cup liners and lightly spray inside of liners with oil.

Mix first five ingredients together in a medium bowl.

In a separate large bowl, add the eggs and beat with a hand mixture until well blended, about 1 minute.

Add honey, melted coconut oil and lemon juice to the eggs and beat again until combined.

Add lemon zest to dry ingredients and mix.

Add dry ingredients (with lemon zest) to egg mixture and mix until well combined, being careful not to over mix.

Fill each muffin cup liner almost to the top with batter until all six are filled.

Comments

OH YEAH!!! These were fantastic! Every time in cook with Coconut flour the dish turns out terrible. This was the first recipe where the end result is FABULOUS!! Thank you so much! I will be sharing this recipe with friends and family.

Happy Spring to you as well. I cannot stop making these! My husband keeps telling me how amazing they are (he usually doesn’t care for muffins or anything sweet related). He even asked me to make him some for his trip (he is a pilot) yesterday!! I am making another batch right now but a mini muffin version to take to my crossfit class tomorrow. Thank you so much!

Hi Tiffany – I’ve never tried freezing them, but I’m sure that you could! I would probably toast them frozen. I didn’t refrigerate mine because we ate them in a couple of days, but I would say they could be refrigerated for about a week in an airtight container.

Hi Paiton – unfortunately I don’t calculate calories for my recipes. Sorry! You could just enter the ingredients into a calorie counter, like myfitnesspal.com and then divide by 6 (or however many muffins you’re making). Hope this helps!

Hi Sam, I’ve never tried these without eggs. I haven’t tried using flax eggs, but you could try! I would imagine they would sink a bit in the center without real eggs. Let me know if you test this out!

Hi, could I swap the honey for Stevia? I tried them, love the recipe but want to bring the calorie and carb content down. Would they be dry without the honey, is there something else I could add? Thanks !

Hi Rachel, I have not tried using stevia in these. Since honey also provides moisture, I may try adding some stevia to either applesauce, mashed banana, or another moisture rich fruit puree in place of the honey. No guarantees this works – just a suggestion to experiment with! Let me know if you try something!

I used stevia with erythritol instead (a product called Betta Sweet) and they were really good. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!! I also added some shreaded coconut for extra texture and this was also delicious

Over the course of the last year I’ve tried so many different Paleo muffin recipes and I must say this one is my favorite because of the fluffiness and moistness of the muffin. For a savory twist, I added about 3 tbsp of basil and reduced the honey to 1/4 cup of maple syrup and came out great. Thanks again for sharing this recipe!